Typography is the study and process of typefaces; how to select, size, arrange, and use them in general. Traditionally, typography was the use of metal types with raised letterforms that were inked and then pressed onto paper. In modern terms, typography today also includes computer display and output.
#24518
This article challenges the conventional approach to cross-cultural communication teaching that instructs students to adapt their communication styles to different cultures by providing them with details about the particular practices of these cultures. It argues for an approach that focuses on common principles of effective communication by pointing out some limitations of the current culture-specific approach and presenting a pilot study that indicates the commonality of communication needs. It suggests some ways to find a different approach for studying international communication and shows that some current research is, in fact, moving in that direction.
Goby, Valerie Priscilla. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (1999). Articles>Business Communication>International
#26885
All Hail Shale: Shale Isn't Struts
What Shale isn't is a shrink-wrapped, well-documented, well-tested product complete with an automated installer and a polished management interface. Now find out what it is, as Brett McLaughlin unveils this mighty -- and rightful-- heir to the legacy of Struts. In this first of a five-part series, Brett explains what Shale is, how it's different from the Struts framework, and how to install and set it up in your development environment.
McLaughlin, Brett D. IBM (2006). Articles>Web Design>Programming
#24590
All the Secrets to Generating Creativity in Literature
NOT for the timid--here are proven, guaranteed, simple ways to create writing that is off-the-wall original. Why be mediocre? Now you can quickly and easily become innovative, bizarre, and distinctive. The "born writer" theorists and "author-worshipers", the non-deconstructionists, will HATE this article.
Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Writing
#25609
Essay on the threat and promise of ubicomp: It should be clear that ubicomp represents a substantial raising of stakes; that its field of operation is by definition total; and that its potential for harm is such that the user experience is too important to leave to chance.
Greenfield, Adam. Boxes and Arrows (2005). Articles>Technology
#21061
Allowing for Personal Choice -- HTML or Text E-Mail
When you ask readers whether they want your e-mail newsletter in HTML or text e-mail, be sure to honor their preference.
Allen, Cliff. Allen.com (2001). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence>Email
#27601
Why do we bother with models or documentation? They don't execute, and our customers pay us for working code, not pretty pictures. We bother with models to communicate. The idea is that a graphical object model can show how objects fit together more clearly than looking at the source, an interaction diagram can show a collaboration better than figuring out the call path from several class definitions. But so often the design documentation fails in this, and leaves me puzzled on my sofa.
Fowler, Martin. MartinFowler.com (1997). Articles>Documentation>Agile>Extreme Documentation
#29795
An Almost Final Farewell to Desktop Word Processing
The era of desktop publishing is over, and I must bid Microsoft Word and several other desktop applications good-bye. In case you think I'm singling out Microsoft, it's not just MS Word, but also OpenOffice, GoogleOffice, or any application that makes what we used to call 'documents'. Nowadays, I'm simply using a wiki for collaborative information sharing and a blog for online reporting.
Albing, Bill. Carolina Communique (2007). Articles>Word Processing>Online>Wikis
#18554
It is important to alphabetize your index in a consistent manner. Otherwise, your readers may become confused or miss an important entry. There are two basic ways to alphabetize, or sort, an index: word by word; letter by letter.
Brown, Fred. Allegro Time! (2001). Articles>Indexing>Editing
#21816
An Alternative to a Master's Program 
Discussions concerning the structure of technical communication programs raise a multitude of questions: how do we include both theory and practice? How much theory is appropriate for a program in an applied area? What do our students need and want? How can we meet our students’ needs and ourown academic goals? These questions can become even more intense when they relate to master’s degree programs and the demanding students they attract. We are faced with decisions about what thenature of a master’s program in technical communication should be.
Allen, Nancy J. CPTSC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Education>Graduate
#31409
Alternative Ways to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Intranet Sites
When you measure hits on inter/intranet sites, you are measuring overall volume of usage -- how many times parts of your site have been opened. However, hits don't distinguish between the opening of an entire page or a single illustration. There are many additional ways of measuring usage. However, measuring the "userability" of a site is just as important in order to improve usage numbers. But the first place any communicator should start when measuring the effectiveness of electronic communications is to identify the original objectives for putting something on-line. Conducting some baseline audience research upfront to make sure your electronic solutions will be as effective as possible and then measuring afterward to see if the intended objectives are being met.
Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (2000). Articles>Web Design>Intranets>Log Analysis
#31410
Alternative Ways to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Publications
If you want to go beyond the usual limits of a traditional readership survey that tells you how well received a publication is, first clarify your objectives. Then you might include additional "impact" questions on your next survey, conduct in-depth focus groups with readers, and conduct some objective, "audience-free" measurements of the publication to see how well those objectives were met.
Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (1998). Articles>Management>Communication>Assessment
#22128
'It's all in the manual.' How many times have you heard that - or said it in frustration? After all, when you are the person who wrote the manual, you know that all the answers are there. But time and again readers can't find what they need to know, or don't understand the material. Before you blame the reader, look again at how you've presented the material.
Hollis Weber, Jean. Technical Editors Eyrie (1989). Articles>Editing>Technical Writing
#19283
Alternatives To User Requirement Gathering 
Of all the disciplines that go together to create a 'usability strategy', user requirement gathering is undoubtedly the most frequently misunderstood. Many product managers or webmasters will believe that they already know their users, perhaps because they have conducted some form of market research, or have a formal complaints and customer feedback programme in place. However, these techniques, discussed below, although similar in aspiration, should not be relied upon as a replacement for a full user-requirement gathering programme. That isn't to say that they do not have their uses of course, but rather that in terms of assisting in application or site design they can be unhelpful or even misleading.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design
#24524
Altruistic vs. Narcissistic Web Sites
Users are repulsed by web sites that are narcissistic, egotistic, corporate-speak, hard to understand, and difficult to use. Users are attracted to and enjoy web sites that are altruistic, user-prioritized, user-focused, easy to understand, easy to use, and full of fresh, relevant content.
Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability
#26953
I will examine this unfortunate side effect, Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), of the Digital Age in this essay. It has probably affected someone you know. I hope this information will cause you to pause, look at your computer setup and initiate changes that make your computing safer and more comfortable. And if you've already experienced some of RSI's disabling and career-threatening effects, I hope that this article eases some of your anxieties by describing methods, approaches and treatments that have helped others.
Amara.com. Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Ergonomics>RSI
#23041
For an information architect with library roots, what's next is obvious: ambient findability. I want to be able to find anything, anywhere, anytime.
Morville, Peter. Semantic Studios (2002). Articles>Information Design>Search
#26561
Ambient Findability: Talking with Peter Morville
Can we reasonably judge authority? How can we make good decisions in the information age? How do we know enough to ask the right questions? Peter Morville takes a moment to talk with us about these and other potential answers, his most recent book, the death of data, and our fascination with the future.
Danzico, Liz. Boxes and Arrows (2005). Articles>Interviews>Information Design
#29273
Writers of English have choices. Most every word we commit to paper (or its electronic equivalent) has a synonym
Wenger, Andrea. Carolina Communique (2007). Articles>Writing>Grammar>Tropes
#31624
Amex Woes Highlight Common PDF Accessibility Problem
American Express has come under criticism, and potential legal action, for the lack of accessibility of its credit card website. A blind customer of American Express credit cards found that Amex's change in the presentation of its online credit card statements from HTML to PDF format effectively prevented him from accessing his financial information online.
Rourke, Chris. User Vision (2007). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Adobe Acrobat
#20515
The AMWA Journal is the official publication of the American Medical Writers Association. Delivered quarterly to AMWA members and Journal subscribers, the AMWA Journal aims to be an authoritative, comprehensive source of information about the knowledge, skills, and opportunities in the field of biomedical communication worldwide.
#25773
AMWA Position Statement on the Contributions of Medical Writers to Scientific Publications
AMWA formed a new task force in 2001 to develop a statement regarding AMWA’s position on the contributions of biomedical communicators to scientific publications.
Hamilton, C.W. and M.G. Royer. Hamilton House (2003). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical
#25942
An Agreement With a Web Designer: What Should it Look Like?
Whether you're spending a few hundred dollars, or thousands of dollars, on your website, you should have a written agreement with your web designer. Here's what to include.
Bennaco (2004). Articles>Web Design>Contracts
#25378
An Overview of Single Sourcing with an XML Content Management System
Creating an XML-based Content Management System to single-source technical publications is as simple as 1 - 2 - 3. OK, maybe it isn't quite that easy, but this article discusses how it can be done.
Sapir, Rick. KeyContent.org (2004). Articles>Content Management>Documentation>XML
#29358
Analysing Everyday Interaction
Inspired by Don Norman's classic book, 'The Design of Everyday Things', I started to collect my own examples of bad designs to analyse according to interaction design principles. Here are just a few.
Poole, Alex. Alex Poole (2004). Articles>Usability>Interaction Design>User Experience
#19875
Analysis and Resolution of Problems Occurring During the Production of Manuals
We produce numerous manuals pertaining to telecommunications and, although we routinely devote much energy to reducing the number of problems occurring during the production process, this time we took up the challenge of eliminating the occurrence of problems altogether. Here, we overview the characterisitics of problems occurring at the company, profile their occurrence by process, and review a few corrective measures.
Konno, Toshiaki, Masanori Takagi and Osamu Tomooka. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Documentation>Quality
